Electric fuse



A. W. STEELE.

ELECTRIC FUSE. APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 24.1919;

8 n-ve wfo-z 2 EMMA/0101 M UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ARCHIE W. STEELE, OF BLOOMFIELD, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO W'ILFOBD J.

HAWKINS, OF. MONTCLAIR, NEW JERSEY.

ELECTRIC FUSE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 8, 1921.

Application filed September 24, 1919. Serial No. 325,882.

T 0 aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that T, ARCHIE TV. STEELE, a subject of the King ofGreat-Britaimresiding at Bloomfield, in the county of Essex, State ofNew Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inElectric Fuses; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full,clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enableothers skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use thesame.

This invention relates to fuses employed in safeguarding electricsystems and more particularly to such a device in which the fuse elementis readily removable and replaceable.

The object of the invention is to produce a fuse of simple andrelatively inexpensive construction and in which a burnedout fuseelement may be replaced with the utmost facility, the element being,nevertheless, securely fastened within the fuse body with its endsfirmly gripped, and held in electrically conductive relation with metalparts adapted to be connected to a circuit.

Further objects and advantages of the in vention will be apparent as itis better understood by reference to the following specification, whenread in connection with the accompanying drawing illustrating thepreferred embodiment of my invention, it being understood that numerousdetails of the structure may be modified without departing from theessentials of the structure, In the drawing,

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a fuse;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section, 011 theline 22 of Fig. 4, illustratingmy invention;

Fig. 3 is plan view of a fuse element;

Fig. 4 is an end elevation of the fuse;

Fig. 5 is a detail in section 011 the line 5-5 of Fig. 6; and

Fig. 6 is an end elevation of a slightly dif ferent form of my inventionslightly difierent from that illustrated in Figs. 1 to 4 inelusive. Ingeneral structure my improved fuse conforms substantially to establishedpractice, having a body 5 consisting of a tube of vulcanized fiber, orother suitable insulating material, carrying metal ferrules 6 atopposite ends, the edges of the ferrules being preferably crimped overthe ends of the tube so that they are held securely in place. The

ferrules are adapted to contact with the usual clips not shown) wherebythe fuse is connected to an electric circuit. A fuse element which maybe of the form illustrated in Fig. and of any usual or suitablematerial, is arranged within the tube 5 diagonally thereof and wi h itsends in contact with the opposite ferrules 6. Que projecting end of thefuse element may be stamped, if desired, with the capacity of the fuse.

To hold the fuse element 7 securely in position, T have provided caps 8,adapted to be ins rted within the ends of the tube 7, thereby holdingthe extremities of the fuse element in close contact with the inturnededges of the ferrules 6. Preferably the caps S are slotted at 9 torender'them more resilient, thus permitting insertion and removal withfacility and insuring retention of the fuse element when the fuse is inuse.

Fuses of the smaller dimensions usually carry relatively thin fuseelements which do notinterfere in any way with the insertion and removalof the caps 8. In the larger sizes, however, the thickness of the fuseelement is material and to accommodate my invention to the larger sizes,1 preferably employ a construction as illustrated in Figs. 5 and 6. Thebody of the fuse in this form of my invention comprises a tube 10 ofinsulating material, with ferrules 11 having crimped edges 12 aspreviously described. A fuse element 13 is disposed within the tubediagonally thereof and its extremities are held in contact with thecrimped ends 12 of the ferrules 11 by caps 1a, which are preferablyslotted at 15 to give them resiliency. The caps lt are, however,flattened at one side as indicated at 16 (Fig. 6) to allow for thethickness of the fuse element 13, and may thus be inserted and removedwithout interference b i the fuse element which is gripped between theflattened surfaces of the caps and the inturned edges of the ferrules.In removing and replacingfuse elements in fuses of the. characterdescribed, it is necessary merely to pry out or otherwise remove the endcaps, thus freeing the fuse ele ment. A new fuse element may be asreadily inserted and the caps replaced, the entire operation requiringbut a few moments.

The extreme simplicity of the construction is at once apparent. Theparts, with the exception of the insulating tube, may be readily stampedfrom sheet metal, or formed which become worthless when the fuse ele- Iment is burned out by excessive fiow of current therethrough.

Various changes and modifications may be made in the structure asillustrated in the drawing and hereinbefore described without departingfrom the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in theaccompanying claims. 7 i

I claim:

1. An electric fuse, comprising, a hollow body of insulating material,metallic ferrules at the ends of said body having inturned edgesengaging the inner surface of the hollow body, a fiat fuse elementwithin said body and resilient friction caps slightly smaller inexternal diameter than the internal diameter of the hollow body engagingsaid inturned edges and firmly gripping the extremities of said fuseelement in electrical contact therewith.

2. An electric fuse, comprising, a hollow body of insulating material,spaced metallic ferrules on said body having their edges crimped overthe ends thereof, a fuse ele- 'ment within said body, and having metalfriction caps slightly smaller in external diameter than the internaldiameter of the hollow body adapted to be inserted in the ends of saidbody to hold said fuse element in electrical contact with the crimpededges of said ferrules. I

3. an electric fuse, comprising a hollow body of insulating material,metallic ferrules at the ends of saidbody having inturned edges engagingthe inner surface of the hollow body, a fiat fuse element diagonallydisposed within said body and friction caps disposed within the ends ofsaid body to grip and hold said fuse element in contact with saidinturned edges, said caps being slotted to increase the resiliency andthereby facilitate insertion and removal thereof. v

4. An electric fuse, comprising, a hollow body of insulatingmaterial,metallic ferrules at the ends of said body having inturnededges engaging the inner surface of the hollow body, a fuse elementdiagonally disposed within said body andfriction caps disposed in theends of said body to hold the extremities of said fuse element inelectrical contact with said inturned edges, said caps being flattenedat one side .to permit insertion thereof in contact withfuse elements ofsubstantial thickness.

In testimonyw whereof I affix my signature.

' ARCHIE W. STEELE.

